The Gift
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Summary: Astro gives a dying child the best Christmas present he ever had.


**T** **he Gift**

 **It** was a few days before Xmas and the class was already looking forward to the long holiday recess. Mustachio rapped a ruler against the worn wooden surface of his ancient desk to get the class's attention. The chatter in the classroom gradually subsided as the teacher cleared his throat and gazed out over the room.

"Good morning students," Mustachio said. "As you have probably noticed, your classmate Shibugaki hasn't been in attendance for almost a week now. I've finally managed to get in contact with his family to find out the reason for his absence. It appears that his younger brother has been in the hospital for quite some time now, and that the boy isn't doing very well. If any of you want to pay the family a visit at the hospital, I will excuse you from classes today to do so."

Astro was the first to raise his hand, followed by Kenichi and Tamao.

"Very well, the three of you may be excused," their teacher said, "I'm sure that Shib will be glad to have your company."

* * *

 **The** hospital wasn't a long walk from the school, and the boys soon found themselves being escorted by an orderly up to the private room where Shib was keeping his poor brother Yoki company. They entered the room while the boy was being examined by a doctor. Tamao stopped in his tracks when he saw the doctor, and he whispered loudly to Kenichi, "Look who's treating Yoki, it's that quack, Dr. Blackjack!"

Kenichi glared at the boy with the thick glasses, "What do you mean by that?", he hissed back.

"Humph!" Tamao replied, "That unlicensed evil curmudgeon charges his patients outrageous fees!"

"You obviously don't know the whole story about him," Kenichi replied.

"Only that Shib's parents will be taken to the cleaners by him for their son's treatment."

"Actually, I won't be asking a single yen from them," the doctor said, as he closed his medical bag and turned to face the boys. "Hello, Kenichi. Astro, please say hello to Zoran for me and Pinoko," he added.

"What do you mean you won't be asking for any payment," Tamao asked.

Blackjack motioned for the three boys to follow him out of the room into the hallway.

"I really don't care about my reputation," The doctor said, "and besides, what most of what you think you know about me is at least partly true. I do charge outrageous fees from my patients who place such a small value on life just to remind them just how precious it is. On the other hand I give most of that money away to charities, and causes that benefit mankind. In addition, I've purchased land that otherwise would have been developed, thereby protecting the habitats of many endangered species of plants and animals."

"I didn't know that," Tamao voiced.

"Also, I won't take a single yen coin from any patient that I can't cure." Blackjack added.

"You mean, …." Kenichi stammered.

"Yes, there isn't much more I can do for Yoki," the doctor explained. "The boy is suffering from a rare form of muscular degeneration. He can barely move now, and it won't be long before his heart will fail. I don't think he'll last much past the new year, if he even makes it that long. I've been able to slow the progress of his disease and extend his life, but now he is totally bedridden and requires constant attention. Not much of an existence really, but every moment he has left is precious to his family. Yoki doesn't know how bad his condition is, so please don't tell him. It would be better if he was able to keep his spirits up during the holidays thinking that he is going to get better."

Blackjack continued down the hallway as Tamao just starred at him. The boy with the thick glasses had a look in his eyes like he'd just seen a ghost and had then been slapped across the face. The boys re-entered the hospital room to find Shib and his parents sitting next to Yoki. The room had been decorated with pictures of of the International Space Station, and images taken by the Hubble space telescope. It was clear that the younger boy was a space buff. Shibugaki was spoon feeding his brother some ice cream. Yoki seemed to have some difficulty swallowing, but he clearly was savoring the treat.

"Thank's for coming," Shib said, "I'm sorry for the way I sometimes bullied you guys in school, especially you, Tamao," he said as he reached out to hug each of them.

"Don't think anything of it," Astro told him, "We're your friends!"

Yoki smiled when he saw Astro, "Hi!" he said slowly. "I've heard a lot about you from my big brother. I always wished I could fly like you!"

"Maybe when you feel better, I'll give you a ride!" Astro said.

"I'd like that!" Yuki said, "Promise?"

"Sure!" Astro said.

* * *

 **T** **he** boys left the hospital feeling rather depressed. "Poor Yoki," Tamao sighed. "He's like two or three years younger than us and he probably doesn't have more than a few weeks left to live."

"I wish there was some way that we could give him some happiness," Kenichi said. "There's so much that he'll never experience. So much of the world that he'll never see."

"I wonder." Astro thought out loud. "You guys go back to class, I've got an idea and I need to talk to Reno!"

 **Reno** was a few years older than Tamao and Kenichi. At his age, he should have been in high school, but most of the time he could be found at the Ministry of Science doing research. Dr. O'Shay did see that the boy kept up with his studies on line, and indeed Reno was demonstrating a grade point average well above 4.0.

Astro flew in through an open window on the fourth floor of the building where Reno's laboratory was located. His friend was sitting at a computer terminal working on a project when he looked up and saw Astro. Reno glanced at the wall clock before asking, "Hey Astro, shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Mustachio excused Tamao, Kenichi and myself so we could visit Shib at the hospital," the boy robot said.

"I didn't know Shib was sick," Reno muttered.

"He isn't, but his younger brother is very ill." Astro sighed, "In fact he doesn't have much longer to live. He's suffering from some sort of muscle paralysis that is gradually getting worse Eventually his heart will fail, according to Dr. Blackjack."

"Gee, if Blackjack can't help him, …..." Reno's voice trailed off.

"Yoki's very weak, but he really wants to do stuff," Astro said. "I had this idea that maybe your Ironman suit,"

"Yeah, it could act like an exoskeleton," Reno interrupted, finishing Astro's sentence for him. "I'd have to build one to fit him exactly though. There is one catch however."

"What's that?" Astro asked.

"Is Yoki strong enough to get out of bed?" Reno asked. "My suit could support him and give him locomotion, but if his body is dependent on life support equipment it might not work. We should go ask Blackjack."

"You up to a little flying?" Atom asked.

"Need you ask?" Reno said as he opened the closet where the Ironman suit hung.

* * *

 **Pinoko** opened the front door when she heard the sound of Astro's jets over the front porch. "Hi Astro!" she said, adding, "Who's your new robot friend?"

Reno pulled his helmet off and smiled. "It's just me, Pinoko."

"Oh hi Reno!", the doctor's assistant laughed. "What are you guys doing out this way, isn't it a school day for you Astro?" she asked.

"We're on a special mission for Shib's brother." Reno explained. "Is Sensei back from the hospital yet?"

At that moment the doctor's black sedan pulled up the driveway and stopped just short of the house.

"Looks like he just got back," Astro said. "You should have noticed that his car was missing."

Reno face palmed. "Yeah, you're right."

Kuro closed the passenger door and carried his medical bag as he mounted the steps leading up to the porch. "What brings you two back to my clinic?" the doctor asked.

"We had an idea about helping Yoki," Astro said.

"I could build him a smaller version of this Ironman suit," Reno explained. "It's a robotic exoskeleton that could give the boy mobility. The suit makes me as strong as Astro, and I can even fly in it."

 **The** three of them entered the doctor's house. Reno placed his helmet on a table, and then opened up the body of the Ironman suit and removed it. He then sat down on a chair and pulled the leggings off.

The doctor examined the robotic suit. "Reno, someday, something like this might give patients suffering from paralysis some mobility," he agreed. "But Yoki's body is already too weak. You'd have to equip the suit with all sorts of medical monitors, a defibrillator unit, and a respirator with an O2 supply. Even then, gravity would still be a problem, Yoki can't even sit up for any length of time without feeling the pressure on his body."

Astro bowed his head. "There must be some way we can make that poor boy's remaining time special. He really wanted me to give him a ride flying."

"That would kill him in his current condition," Blackjack said.

"If only you could replace his failing body with a robotic one," Astro said.

"You mean turn the boy into a cyborg?" the doctor asked, a look of horror on his face. "I know that such a thing has actually been attempted before, and the results weren't exactly good."

"Yeah, that happened to Mustachio's dog," Astro remembered, "poor thing."

"That does give me an idea," Reno said, "If Astro would go along with it."

"What are you thinking?", Blackjack asked.

"The Ministry once worked on a project for the military to help train pilots, and to remote control drone aircraft. It was a virtual reality system that could fully immerse a person into an alternate frame of reference. I've been working on adapting the technology toward computer gaming and remote presence systems for disabled people."

"I've heard of that," the doctor said.

"The system uses a special helmet that is equipped with 3D visual and audio feedback to the wearer," Reno explained. "I've also developed special gloves and socks that give tactile feedback as well. The helmet has special superconducting sensors that can pick up brain impulses and the computer system can translate those into motor commands. Sensitive pads placed on a persons arms and legs can pick up messages being sent to motor neurons for remote control as well. I don't know if those would work on Yoki with his weakened muscles thought."

"I think I see where you're going with this," the doctor smiled. "I could surgically implant the required sensors directly to the nerve endings in his arms and legs if necessary. If they are small enough, they could be inserted almost subcutaneously with no discomfort."

"Yes, they can be miniaturized to that extent," Reno replied.

"What are you guys thinking?" Astro asked.

"Would you like to take Yoki with you flying, Astro?" Reno asked. "Maybe even on a jaunt into space?"

"I'm sure he'd like that!" the boy robot said, "But the doctor already said that wasn't possible."

"Well you can't physically take him away from his bed," Reno said, "But you could take him along inside of you!"

"How?" Astro asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"By connecting his brain up to your electronic one!" Reno said, "By using my virtual reality equipment, Yoki will be able to see, and feel everything you do, he'll also be able to control your body, though you will be able to override his commands if he tries to do anything unsafe."

"I get it!" Astro laughed. "That's wonderful!"

* * *

 **Christmas day** in the hospital wasn't usually the happiest of times for the patients and the doctors. It was a lousy time to be laid up in bed, and everyone wished they could be elsewhere. Still the medical staff tried to cheer up their patients. A few of the staff took turns dressing up as Santa Claus to distribute presents, and the hallways and patient rooms were decorated with the usual holiday garb.

Shibugaki sat by his younger brother's bedside, along with his parents. The younger boy required his older brother's help to tear open his presents, he was now carefully holding a brand new baseball, his fingers feeling the stitches holding the horsehide ball together. "Thank's bro!" Yoki voiced. "I can't wait to be able to play catch with you!"

Astro and Reno took that moment to enter the room, with Kuro Hazama right behind them holding his medical bag.

"Merry Christmas Yoki," Reno said, as he placed the large cardboard box he'd been carrying on the floor next to the foot of the bed. "We've got a special present for you!"

"What is it?" the boy asked.

"I'm taking you around the city today," Astro said. "You're going to fly with me anywhere you want!"

"But Yoki's too weak to leave the bed!" Shibugaki said, "The doctors said any strenuous activity would kill him!"

"We've figured out a way around that," Blackjack said, as Reno opened the box and began to remove its contents.

Reno held the virtual reality helmet up for Yoki to see. The device was a sinister black in color, looking like something that had just been removed from the head of Darth Vader. "With this helmet on you'll be able to see, hear and feel everything that Astro does," Reno explained. "It will be like you're inside of him, even though you'll never actually leave this bed."

Reno carefully fit the device over Yoki's head. He adjusted the internal straps so the helmet fit comfortably and made sure that the internal sensor pickups were in the correct locations.

"It's dark, I can't see anything!" the boy said in a scared tone.

"Wait a moment, I'll turn it on and you'll see." Reno said. He set up his laptop computer to act as a relay station, and then opened Astro's chest panel. Reno attached a small transceiver to Astro's internal network and then closed the panel.

"This is spooky!" Yoki said. "I can see myself though Astro's eyes!"

"Yeah, I'm looking at you right now!" Astro laughed.

Reno removed the mesh gloves and socks from the box, and carefully placed them on the boys hands and feet. Astro picked up the baseball that had rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

"I can feel the ball through your hands!" Yoki gasped.

"One more little thing," Blackjack said. "This is going to hurt just a tiny bit, I'm going to inject you with four small pickup sensors that will enable you to interact with Astro's body even more closely."

"OK," Yoki said.

The doctor sprayed the boys forearm with a topical anesthesia, and then inserted the needle of a hypodermic styrene into the muscle.

"Did that hurt much?" Kuro asked.

"No," Yoki said. "Not anywhere as bad as where I've been stuck a thousand times before."

The doctor then inserted the other three sensors in the same manor. Reno placed a pickup band around the boy's arms and legs just over each injection site. "We don't need any wires, those little sensors talk to my computer via radio waves, kinda like WiFi," he explained.

"Now try and get me to do something," Astro told Yoki.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

"Concentrate," Reno told him. "Use my virtual reality equipment to imagine that you ARE Astro. You can do anything that he can!"

"Here, I'll show you!" Astro laughed. He opened the window of the room and flew outside.

"WOW!" Yoki cried out, gripping the edges of the bed with his weakened fingers. "I'm flying!"

Through the visual projectors in the helmet the boy could see the world around him several hundred feet above the ground as the boy robot floated above the ground, held aloft by his leg jets. Yoki could hear and feel the wind blowing around him. Mentally Yoki tried to turn his head, the helmet picked up the thought impulses as neurons in the boys neck fired to command those muscles to turn. Those impulses were then transmitted through Reno's computer and then through the transceiver where they reached Astro's electronic brain and caused his head to turn about.

"I can feel you within me!" Astro replied, and the boy heard his voice though the helmet.

"Yeah, it's like we're the same person now!" Yoki laughed.

Gradually Yoki's mind explored the connection. The boy willed Astro to fly towards the playground where he once enjoyed himself before he had become ill. Yoki landed in the middle of the park and ran towards the swings. He climbed onto one of them and pushed off.

Astro had never tried this, but he'd often watched the human children playing in this area. "This is fun Yoki!" he told his friend back in the hospital bed, "but don't you want to try something different with me?"

"Sure!" Yoki laughed. He jumped off the swing and hit the ground running. Yoki ran as fast as he could, never feeling the burn in his leg muscles that he normally would from such effort. Astro ran across the park at nearly 100 kmh, he mentally overrode Yoki's mental control to go even faster.

Yoki's mind searched for Astro's jets and found them, he leaped skyward and hovered over the city. Once again he looked around himself.

"Where do you want to go?" Astro asked.

"Can you really fly into space?" Yoki asked.

"We can if you like," Astro replied. "I've got nearly a full tank of fuel"

"Help me get to the space station then," Yoki said.

Astro allowed the boy to control his body as he fired the rockets in his arms and legs. The two of them zoomed upward, and the sky around them lost its blue color and turned an inky black as Astro left the atmosphere below him. Yoki looked about and saw the ISS looming large in his forward field of view.

They reached the airlock and Yoki carefully opened the outer door and entered the space station. Astro had already radioed ahead to let the astronauts know he was coming, he'd been here before and was always welcomed.

The inner door to the station cracked open, and astronaut Sally Furth was waiting there.

Yoki smiled under the helmet causing Astro's face to show the same reaction. "Hi Sally!" Yoki said, "I've always wanted to meet you."

"We've met before, Astro." The astronaut answered a bit confused.

"I know," Astro answered himself, "I've got a bit of a dual personality today, I'm acting as a tele-presence robot for a friend who's back on Earth."

"Oh, then who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Sally asked.

"My name is Yoki," the boy answered. "Did you get the letter I sent you some time back?"

Astro leaned forward and whispered into the astronaut's ear, he mentally disconnected himself from the boy so that he wouldn't hear what he told the astronaut. "Ms Forth, Yoki is lying in a hospital bed back on Earth," Astro whispered, "He's suffering from a rare disorder that has mostly paralyzed him, and he doesn't have much time left to him."

Sally Furth nodded. "I think I remember getting your correspondence young man," she said. "You're quite a space buff, aren't you? Would you like a tour of the station?"

"Would I!" Yoki exclaimed though Astro.

 **For** the next half hour Sally escorted Yoki through the space station. When they reached the Japanese built Kibo laboratory module, astronaut Yuji Tanaka greeted them. Sally pulled Yuji aside and briefly whispered something to him.

"Hi, Yuji!", Yoki beamed. "I've been a big fan of yours ever since we studied the ISS in school!"

"Really?" the Japanese astronaut replied. "Well, I'm about to go outside for a spacewalk to adjust some equipment and I could use some help, would you like to come along?"

"Sure!" Yoki cried out. As they approached the airlock, Yuji removed a spacesuit from where it was hanging in a closet area. The bulky suit had his name written on it in both English and Kanji. Yoki looked about him, as if searching for a smaller spacesuit his size. "We won't need a suit," Astro told the boy, "I'm a robot remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Yoki laughed to himself.

"Normally, I'd need another astronaut to come outside with me," Yuji said, "We usually work in teams outside, the buddy system you know. It's safer that way. Of course with you and Astro with me, I'm quite safe!"

The airlock was just large enough for Yuji in his spacesuit and Astro to fit somewhat cramped inside. The two of them emerged outside of the space station. "I'm going to make my way over to the sensor array located near that antenna," Yuji pointed, "You will follow me, can you carry that instrument pack while I bring the tools?"

Yoki bent down and picked up the padded instrument case that had been on the floor of the airlock. While the astronaut used the peroxide thrusters on his backpack to make his way over to the sensor array, Yoki used Astro's leg rockets to ferry over. The boy over throttled the rockets, but Astro caught the mistake and corrected.

They reached the station. Yuji attached himself to the array tower with a nylon belt hook, while Astro magnetized the bottoms of his boots to anchor himself and Yoki safely in place. After he opened the panel on the sensor array, Yuji took the test instrument from Yoki and attached a pair of cables. The boy watched as the astronaut adjusted the array's calibration, which didn't take more than a few minutes.

"It looks good," the astronaut said. He handed Yoki a screwdriver like tool, "Can you close up the panel for me while I pack up?"

"Sure!" the boy smiled. Yoki held the tool in Astro's hand and easily locked the panel shut. He slipped the screwdriver under the green belt band around Astro's waist and the two of them kicked off and floated back towards the airlock.

* * *

 **Shibugaki** poked his brother gently, but got no response. For the past hour the boy had been talking softly out loud to himself, while moving his head back a forth slightly, and making some minor movements of his hands, arms and legs. He had however been totally unaware of everything that had been going on in the hospital room. Dr. Blackjack had connected EKG wires to the boy's chest, and some EEG wires to his forehead. The physician had also been monitoring the boy's blood pressure.

"There's nothing to be worried about," Kuro told Yoki's family. "He's totally immersed in the virtual world that Reno and Astro have created for him, and it doesn't seem to be stressing him very much. I realize that it does upset you that Yoki is now unaware of your presence in this room, but he does seem to be enjoying himself."

"In that case, I'm glad," the boy's mother said, "Though I don't quite understand what he is experiencing."

"His mind is doing what his body wouldn't allow him to do." The doctor tried to explain. "It's more than a dream, but less than reality."

"Oh, it's real," Reno replied. "It's quite real, because Astro is quite real!"

"Maybe you'd better tell Astro to come back here," Blackjack said. "According to Yoki's chart, it's time for his treatment."

"I though you said that the muscle stimulants weren't working," Yoki's father asked.

"The therapy isn't a cure, but it may be slowing the degeneration slightly," the doctor said. "We can delay it a few hours, but we should continue the treatments as it does reduce his stress and pain levels."

"I'll tell Astro to come back then," Reno said as he typed away on the computer keyboard.

* * *

" **Thank's** for your help," Yuji said as they stepped out of the airlock. The astronaut had already placed the helmet of his spacesuit on the rack where it was stored, and was now removing the rest of the bulky garment.

"Thank you for letting me tag along," Yoki replied, "That was fun!"

"We'd better go back now," Astro told Yoki, "They're calling me from the hospital now,"

"Yeah I guess I'm overdue for the torture treatment by now," Yoki sighed.

"Torture?", Astro asked.

"Well it doesn't actually hurt," the boy replied, "but the muscle thing they do to me makes my body twitchy for a while. I do feel better afterwards, but I wish there was another way they could do it, like while I sleep or something."

"Sounds like the diagnostics that Reno runs on me every so often," Astro laughed.

After saying their goodbyes to the crew of the ISS, Astro stepped through the airlock. Yoki allowed Astro to control his descent back towards Earth and merely tagged along for the ride. He did enjoy the sensation as they flew back towards the hospital and landed in the room.

* * *

" **I'm** going to cut the connection now, Yoki," Reno said, "But we can do it again later if you like."

"Sure." the boy replied, somewhat half hearted.

Reno carefully removed the helmet from Yoki's head. The boy's eyes were a little bloodshot, and some drool had accumulated on his chin.

"I was afraid of that," the doctor sighed. "We'll do the therapy in a few hours, for now the boy should get some sleep."

Reno left the special socks on the boy, but removed the gloves from his hands, and the sensor wraps from his arms and legs. He placed the virtual reality hardware back into the box, and turned off the computer.

"We'll come back again tomorrow," Reno told Yoki.

The boy slowly turned his head to look at Astro. "Thanks a lot!" he voiced. "You're wonderful Astro!"

* * *

 **That** evening Astro explained to Dr. O'Shay what had happened during the day.

"That was very nice of you, Astro." His guardian said. "You've done a wonderful thing for that poor boy.

"I was happy to, Hakasai," Astro smiled. "I could sense his feelings though the connection. It was rather strange, I never realized how lonely humans can feel inside."

"Yes, we all need some love and attention when we are suffering illness," the professor said. "Perhaps our weaknesses are what makes us human, and that's something that was probably left out of your kokoro."

* * *

 **It** was late at night when Dr. O'Shay was awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing. He rolled over to his nightstand to pick up the instrument after the third ring. "Moshi Moshi," the professor voiced sleepily.

"Dr. O'Shay?", the voice on the other end answered. "I'm sorry to wake you so late at night, but I'm sure that Astro would want to know what's happened."

The doctor then recognized the voice at the other end. "You're Shibugaki's father, aren't you? I think we've met once at a PTA meeting."

Yes, that's correct," the voice at the other end acknowledged. "I wanted to thank Astro for what he did for my son Yoki the other day. The boy has been in poor spirits ever since he was hospitalized, though he never once let on. All during his therapy late yesterday afternoon, he kept talking about how wonderful it was to be with Astro during the day, and how they flew up to the space station and met his astronaut heroes. I don't think my young son was ever so happy in all of his life."

"Surly you could have waited till later to tell me that," the professor sighed.

"Well I needed to let you and Astro know that Yoki died in his sleep just an hour ago," the man sobbed. "The boy passed with a smile on his face, and I wanted to thank Astro for that as soon as possible."

"I'll let him know," the professor sighed.

"I know." Astro said in a soft voice and tears dripping from his eyes. The boy robot had been standing just outside of his guardian's bedroom, and with his ears set at 1000x gain, he'd heard both sides of the phone conversation. "Tell him I was very happy to do it, and that Yoki left a bit of himself inside of me."


End file.
